1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a novel method for producing amorphous metals.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Amorphous metals have recently attracted interest as novel materials rich in functional properties in a broad industrial field because of their excellent physical and chemical properties.
Methods for producing these amorphous metals, rapid cooling (quenching) of a molten metal and vapor deposition have been proposed, but the former has been mainly carried out. In this method, a given metal is heated once, melted and the molten metal sprayed onto a rapidly rotating copper plate or the like through a nozzle to quench the molten metal, whereby the given amorphous metal is obtained. In this method, it is essential to obtain a high quenching rate, so that the form of the product is limited to a ribbon shape or a linear shape and it is impossible to obtain a thick product and further it is impossible to make only a surface thereof amorphous. Furthermore, it is difficult to control the quenching rate and therefore, it is impossible to control the amorphous rate (irregularity) of the product. These drawbacks inevitably occur, and the commercially applicable range of the resulting product is narrow and limited. In the latter method, a given metal is vaporized once, condensed and grown on a base plate to obtain an amorphous metal. In this method, only a thinner product than that obtained with the former method is produced and further the cost becomes very high.